Lilies & Baby's Breath
by Flower 'n' Prongs
Summary: Harry and Hermione make a horrid mistake. Their relationships with Ron will be different and her parents could come back to a different daughter. She thought Luna had her back, but with a new friend and Hermione worries about her changing for the worst.
1. Chapter One

**Lilies & Baby****'****s Breath**

_Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside._

_--Rita Rudner_

**Dedicated to:** all of those people who don't like the typical canon pairings.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything Harry Potter, that all belongs to Jo Rowling. Quotes that you recognize were in the chapter "The Flaw in the Plan" in Deathly Hallows and are not mine (I believe that there are two).

**Author****'****s Note:** I hope you all enjoy this. I have tried to take some clichés and make them less typical or random in this story, so I am trying to work with some more difficult material. If you want to participate in the challenge, it is called "The Anti-Cliché Challenge". Just so you know, I usually stick to Marauder-era characters so the Trio's generation is a bit more difficult for me to write. Thank you to worldsapart for the challenge and Severus/Lily for the title suggestions. A million thanks to SiriuslylvnSirius25 and EmilyBaybee on HPFF.

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**CHAPTER ONE**

Hermione stood in the Great Hall as the final battle against the Death Eaters took place. She had just been shoved out of Bellatrix's firing range as Mrs. Weasley came running in fury. Before she was really able to grasp what was going on, Bellatrix and Mrs. Weasley were sending curse after curse at one another at lightning speed. People slowly inched backwards, being sure to leave plenty of room for the two duelling women. However, Ginny Weasley stayed put watching her mother intently.

"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" Bellatrix cried, eyes flashing, as she ducked a jet of violet light. "But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's start at the beginning… _CRUCIO!_"

Hermione's scream mingled with that of Mrs. Weasley's, though both were muffled by the evil laugh of Bellatrix. Ginny was being held back by Luna while she threatened and swore at Bellatrix. As Bellatrix lifted the curse, Mrs. Weasley's screams stopped and she regained proper speech. In a cold, clear tone she said, "You -- will -- never -- touch -- our -- children!"

At that moment Luna lost her grip on Ginny, who made a beeline towards a laughing Bellatrix. "I wouldn't place money on that… not that you _have_ any money."

Before she could continue, Ginny gave her a swift punch in the head. Luna and Hermione were among the group who gave loud cheers at the stunned look on the Death Eater's face. Reaching behind her, Bellatrix grabbed Ginny by the hair and pulled her in front of her body like a shield. "Lovely daughter you have Weasley; she has the same temperament as her mummy, doesn't she? It would be a pity if she had to die."

Mrs Weasley got a look on her face that Hermione had never seen before and wished that she would never see again. "You are not going to attack my daughter you bitch. Kill me if you must but don't you dare use a single curse on Ginny!" Her voice got higher and higher as she continued to speak, shrieking by the end.

"Don't tempt me," Bellatrix said dryly. "Although, there would be no fun in killing you at the moment. Let's see just how brave your precious _Ginny_ really is." Before anybody had the chance to do anything, Bellatrix pointed her wand at Mrs. Weasley. "_Petrificus Totalus!"_ Turning to the younger witch, she exclaimed,_ "Crucio!_"

Bellatrix was clearly enjoying herself. "Not so strong is she?" Bellatrix asked Mrs. Weasley, who was stiff as a board. Ginny was curled up in a ball on the floor, yelling at the top of her lungs. Bellatrix's eyes were suddenly full of life; she was focusing entirely on causing pain to the teenager in front of her. She was oblivious to Mrs. Weasley being helped by a student on the sidelines, now back on her feet.

"_Aguamenti!_" Mrs. Weasley cried, a jet of water shooting out of her wand, shooting just over her target's head before she corrected her aim and hit her around her stomach. Bellatrix, unaware of what was happening, took a step back and fell. There was a nasty crunching sound as she landed on her left wrist, which appeared to have been broken.

Sneering, she pulled herself off of the floor, dripping water as she went. Ginny, who was still on the floor whimpering, tried to pull herself away but was grabbed by Bellatrix before she had the chance to get far. She was pulled up by her clothing and forced to stand in front of Bellatrix, trembling. "Stop it you pathetic girl," Bellatrix hissed. "I think I need to remind you of the situation you're in… _crucio!_"

Hermione and Luna winced as Ginny dropped down to the floor again, writhing in the pain Bellatrix was putting her in. Hermione was shocked at the utter loathing that she was feeling towards Bellatrix, she hadn't felt this much resentment to anybody else; and it was only Mrs. Weasley sending a curse at Bellatrix that stopped her from running out to go attack the woman herself.

"_Crucio!_" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, causing Bellatrix to end up beside Ginny. Hermione knew that sweet Mrs. Weasley had finally been pushed too far. However, it seemed that Bellatrix was still ready to duel.

"Not bad, Weasley," she sneered. "You've got the basics of the Cruciatus curse, though you must admit that you would need to work at it. I think you need another demonstration, don't you?" Her voice had become sugary sweet and she had the air of somebody who had been merely helping another student with a difficult assignment. She grabbed Ginny by the hair again, forcing her into a sitting position.

"No," Mrs. Weasley said. "Don't! You've done it enough; I don't want to see it!"

Much to everybody's relief Bellatrix let go of Ginny's hair, leaving her shaking, her wide brown eyes looking up at the Death Eater in shock. "Yes, I think I have shown you as much as you are going to need to know about the Cruciatus curse. I think we should move on now." Ginny whimpered, pushing herself as far away from Bellatrix as she could manage for being so shaky. Her mother looked absolutely livid, heading towards Bellatrix very quickly.

Two spells were cast at the same time; one bright green, the other a blood red. Hermione and Luna screamed, grabbing onto each other. Hermione was silently pleading for Ginny to be all right. It didn't look good though.

Bellatrix, all of her beauty wasted, was pushing herself back up; breathing heavily. She carefully examined Mrs. Weasley; now that she had cast two of the Unforgivables at the mother's only daughter she seemed slightly more worriedShe walked over to a spot not to far from where Ginny was lying, and picked up her fallen wand.

Ginny's red hair partially covered her face and she appeared to be sleeping in a rather uncomfortable position. As much as Hermione wished it not to be true, she knew that Ginny was dead.

Luna seemed to have this fact sink in first, beginning to sob. Hermione knew that it was very difficult for her to accept that one of her friends had passed away, as she always had a difficult time making friends. She gave Luna a hug and whispered what she hoped were soothing things in her ear, wetting Luna's hair with her own tears.

As Hermione conjured a tissue for Luna, she heard the noise level increase again. Looking back towards Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix, she saw Mrs. Weasley sobbing and yelling while Bellatrix taunted her. They were starting to duel once more, curses flying left and right.

"You're going to pay for this you bitch!" Mrs. Weasley roared, sending a curse just off of the target. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!"

Bellatrix laughed, throwing her own curse wide of the mark and hitting a seventh year who was watching the duel. "You're going to make me pay, you little _blood traitor_?" A jet of red light hit Bellatrix in the arm before she could continue. She screamed, high-pitched and loud, but managed to stay upright. "So you did pay attention then, though you still have a lot to learn." Bellatrix twirled her wand with her fingers and ducked a blue light that was heading right for her head. "I don't think you will have the chance to do that though, what a pity. Goodbye Weasley. _AVADA KEDAVRA!_"

There were several screams, Hermione's included. She thought time seemed to be moving in slow motion, falling towards the floor with a slight look of surprise on her tear-stained face. As Bellatrix started to laugh, clearly pleased with herself; Hermione sank to the floor, crying. Through her tears, Hermione saw Bellatrix turn and look at the group who had been watching the duel between her and Mrs. Weasley. "Who's next? Who here is brave enough to fight me?"

There was only one person in the crowd who made a move to the centre of the circle to join Bellatrix. Luna whispered to Hermione in awe, "That's Neville's gran!"

Hermione wiped her eyes and looked to where Luna was pointing. There was no mistaking the woman who was pointing her wand at Bellatrix. "Shut up Lestrange. Nobody puts my son in St Mungo's and doesn't pay for it."

Bellatrix's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Frank Longbottom's mum, are you? Your son was an interesting person, though I think it's safe to assume that he's even more interesting now, isn't it?"

"Don't you _dare_ insult my son!" Mrs. Longbottom snapped, sending three consecutive curses at Bellatrix. "You are an absolutely _despicable_ person. You really are going to deserve what you get."

"And you think that you're the one who is going to be able to stop me." Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "I think we're going to have to see if you're any more talented than your pathetic son then, won't we? Let's see how long you last before you're begging for mercy. _Crucio!_"

Mrs. Longbottom managed to avoid the curse, quickly sending her own back. The two women moved quickly, surrounded with different coloured flashes. The duel was very high paced, but nobody seemed to be making much headway. After several minutes, Bellatrix decided that enough was enough. "_Avada --_"

She was interrupted my Mrs. Longbottom. "_Stupefy!_" she cried, not letting Bellatrix finish her curse. "Bellatrix, I think it's the end for you… stop moving! _Stupefy._ I didn't hope it would come down to this, but I guess it has." She took a deep breath before continuing. "_Avada Kedavra._"

Bellatrix's eyes widened but before she had the chance to do anything, she slumped onto the floor; lifeless. Hermione cheered, pulling Luna into a tight hug. As the celebration went around the circle of onlookers, Voldemort seemed to realize what must have just happened and screamed. There was a rush to get away as Voldemort raised his wand, but Hermione and Luna were too slow. Hermione heard a curse being yelled, followed by a very hazy feeling. Unaware of what had just happened, she slumped to the floor.

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When she woke up, the first person she saw was Luna. She was braiding and un-braiding her hair as Hermione looked up at her, grinning when she saw that her friend was now awake. "Madam Pomfrey fixed your head, though she said that you should drink this when you woke up." Luna handed a cup of potion to Hermione, who promptly drank it while making a face.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, pushing herself into a sitting position. Looking around she could see groups of people looking over the bodies of dead family members and friends, people being told what had happened after they had been injured, and people still lying unconscious on beds.

"Harry won of course," Luna said in a dreamy voice. Seeing the confused look on Hermione's face, she proceeded to explain that Harry wasn't actually dead and how he had managed to defeat Voldemort once and for all. "It's a pity you missed it really, it was good to have something positive happen."

"Does he know about Ginny and Mrs. Weasley?"

"Yes, he does. He says that he was under an Invisibility Cloak at the time. I think that's pretty interesting, you know, because nobody realized that he had it in the Forest, or they would've realized that was how he disappeared when he was supposed to be dead. It must have been the Ladelfurkles that helped Harry."

"It must have been the _what__'__s_ that helped Harry!?"

"Ladelfurkles. Don't tell me you've never heard of them. They look similar to pinecones and can affect your luck. Harry must have been lying in some when they thought he was dead. But where was I? Oh yes, his Cloak. Well, he pulled it off right after you passed out. He and You-Know-Who had a discussion before they started to fight. Did you know that Snape's patronus was a doe because of Harry's mum?"

"Snape liked Harry's _mum_?"

"Yes, didn't I just say that? That's not the main point though. He Who Must Not Be Named tried to kill Harry, but he cast _Expelliarmus_ at the same time. You-Know-Who's spell rebounded on him and he died. I'm surprised that the noise of the celebration didn't wake you up, it was much louder than anything else I remember. He tried to get away for a bit, but now he's off with Ron and the rest of Ron's family looking at the bodies of Ginny and Mrs. Weasley."

"Do you think I could go join them?" Hermione asked, getting nothing more than a shrug from Luna. Although her body was stiff and sore, she wanted to go see her friends. Logic was telling her that it would be smarter to stay put and wait to be checked up on by the matron. She did try to convince herself that she would be helpful by freeing up one of the beds for other injured people.

"If you're going to go see them, I'm going to go owl Daddy and tell him that I'm fine, Harry won, and to send me some tree sap for the Ladelfurkles who helped Harry. I'll come back and see you when I'm done."

"Okay, see you Luna," Hermione called as Luna waved and walked away. It didn't take much looking for her to find the Weasley family and Harry, since they were a very large group and all of the red hair stood out. As she passed through the Hall she saw several other people who she knew, both alive and dead. Oliver Wood was standing with his family over the dead body of a man who seemed to be about ten years older than her. The woman who had been Head Girl when Hermione was in third year was very pregnant and sobbing beside the body of a man who appeared to be her husband. Remus and Tonks were lying beside one another, with Andromeda standing beside them in shock. Just as Hermione was continuing on she saw a very pretty woman with light blonde hair put flowers on the two bodies, her equally blond son giving an awkward hug to Andromeda.

When she arrived at the place where Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were laying, she took a few calming breaths to try and help the lump in her throat and the stinging in her eyes. Mrs. Weasley had been like her second mother, the one who she had been able to talk to ever since she had made her own parents move to Australia. She was the one that Hermione had talked to about the wizarding world when she needed to. Ginny was like her little sister and one of her closest friends. She had always wished that she had a sister, but now the closest thing she had to one was no longer alive.

She walked silently between her two best friends, once she had managed to calm herself down somewhat. Harry was on her left, staring blankly at the two bodies as though he didn't fully believe what had just happened. Hermione knew that Mrs. Weasley was the closest thing he had had to a mother since Lily gave her life for him on Halloween nearly seventeen years ago. Despite no longer dating Ginny, Hermione was pretty sure that he still had some feelings for her. If he didn't, she was positive he thought of her in a similar manner to how Ron thought of her.

On her right, Ron was in much worse condition. He had tears rolling down his cheeks, his breathing mixed with hiccups. His face was tearstained, and his eyes were approaching a colour similar to that of his hair. Ron had grown up in a family with his parents and his six siblings, which was dropped to his father and five brothers within a few minutes. He seemed to be unaware that his friends were there, staring at the bodies of his mother and sister without much moving.

The remaining Weasley's seemed to be more or less in the same condition that Ron was in, standing around the two bodies. Mr. Weasley was perhaps worst of them all, holding his wife's hand, shaking and crying uncontrollably.

Once her head cleared a bit, Hermione gently pulled on Harry's hand. "Harry, we should probably give them a few minutes by themselves," she whispered. "Come with me, I'm sure we could find somewhere to go."

He nodded, though Hermione wasn't entirely sure how much he had been paying attention. After hugging all of the Weasley's, she pulled Harry away. They walked silently through the crowd of people, Harry giving small greetings to all of the people who called out congratulations and thanks to him. Almost mechanically, the two made their way out of the Great Hall and towards the seventh floor.

Before she was really aware of what was going on, Hermione found herself standing outside of the Fat Lady's portrait. She looked at Harry, wondering what they were going to do now, since neither of them knew the password. Much to their surprise, the Fat Lady didn't seem too upset about this. In fact, she seemed rather excited just to get to talk to them after the night's events. "I heard all about what happened, it was rather hectic don't you think? I know I saw more than one duel, of course I was hoping that the Death Eater was going to die and I let him know it! But I suppose that you two would like to go in, wouldn't you? I know I really shouldn't do this, but it's empty after all. How about you tell me your first password here as a security measure?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, both hoping that the other one would remember what the password had been. Looking up at the portrait, who was eyeing them closely, Hermione said, "Er… caput draconis?"

With the beam that she received Hermione knew that she had picked correctly. "Yes, yes that's the one! And Harry dear," she paused, smiling down at him. "Congratulations!"

Mumbling their thanks, the pair walked into the common room. It was deserted and quite messy, as people seemed to have forgotten things in their rush out of the castle. There were the remains of essays, sweet wrappers, and yesterday's _Daily Prophet_ scattered over the chairs and tables. Harry flopped onto the couch closest to the fire, which appeared to have long gone out. After contemplating whether she should leave him alone to his thoughts or not, Hermione sat down beside him.

"Harry, are you okay?" she asked, trying not to make it sound like a big deal.

He turned to face her, hair sticking up more than usual and green eyes brighter because of the slight pink tones around his eyes. "Hermione," he began slowly. "Do you think I would be fine if I lost two people that important to me? They are- they _were_ like my family. I'm not sure if you know what that's like, but it is bloody difficult!" His voice was louder when he ended than when he started, and Hermione knew that he was trying to keep everybody away in fear that they didn't know what it would be like.

"I modified my parents' memories and sent them to live on the other side of the world without knowing if or when I would be able to see them again. Yes, maybe they're not gone forever but they don't know I exist right now. To get my parents back I have to re-modify their memories and hope that I don't screw it up. If I lose them, then I don't have a family any more either. Ginny was like my sister Harry and one of my best friends. Just because I didn't want to snog her doesn't mean I won't miss her."

"I never said that you wouldn't!" Harry said, pushing himself farther away from her until he was resting against the arm of the couch. "You don't know what it's like when nobody loves you Hermione. Not now that you have _Ron_."

"Yes, Ron and I have been rather affectionate," Hermione admitted, inching closer to him. She knew what Harry could be like when he got into one of his moods, very touchy and full of self-pity. "But that doesn't mean that it's love Harry, at least not the kind you're thinking of. Love is a strong word. And don't you dare insist that people don't love you now that Ginny's gone. You know as well as I do that the entire Weasley family and I love you, so don't pretend to think otherwise."

"It's not the same thing Hermione," Harry insisted, turning to face her. "I really doubt that, say, Charlie would want to marry me." She saw the small smirk that he was trying to hide, happy that he was smiling.

She pulled him into a quick hug, happy that he wasn't pushing her away. "I know that you're upset about not being an official member of the Weasley family, unless you want to marry either Ron or his brothers; but that doesn't really matter, does it?"

He sighed. "It's not whether it's official or not that I would miss, that isn't the most important thing about Ginny being gone. It's the fact that she and I are never going to have the chance to get married, that she and I won't have the chance to have kids, that she and I are never going to have the chance to do _anything_ from now on."

She pulled him close to her, giving him the best hug she could manage. "I know you're going to miss her," she whispered. "We all will." She pulled away for a second, going to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Much to her shock, she found her lips on Harry's. She knew that his head must have turned to look at her after she finished talking to him, but she still worried that he might think that she had done that on purpose. She looked down, feeling her cheeks grow warm and muttered, "Sorry."

"Hermione," he said softly, pulling her chin up.

Next thing she knew, her lips were back on his and her head was spinning. She knew that she shouldn't be kissing her best friend not long after she had agreed to go on a date with their other close friend. She knew that he was probably not thinking straight, that he just wanted Ginny and she was there. She knew that she should pull away at that moment and refuse to do anything else. She knew that she should insist that they go back to see Ron and his family, before they wondered where they had disappeared to.

But she also knew that she was really enjoying this kiss, that her heart was pounding, and that she didn't want to leave. Despite what her brain was telling her, Hermione followed her heart and threw logic out the window for once in her life. Ignoring everything that she usually followed, she gave in to Harry and ran her hands through his hair. She slowly got off the couch, bringing the boy she was snogging with her.


	2. Chapter Two

**Lilies & Baby****'****s Breath**

_Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside._

_--Rita Rudner_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything Harry Potter, everybody and everything you recognize from the books belongs to Jo Rowling.

**Author****'****s Note:** Thanks to those who read and especially reviewed last time. If you're going to add me to your favourites/author alert list, at least review to tell me what you think.

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**Chapter Two**

Hermione knew that she was in trouble when she found herself under the covers of a four-poster bed in the boys' dorms. Knowing that she ought to get up before Harry returned from the loo, she pulled herself out of bed and began to collect her clothing from the area around it. She had just finished pulling her hair out from under her shirt when Harry walked in.

Hermione quickly looked away, feeling herself grow warm. She had not expected this to happen, she definitely hadn't expected herself to make love to Harry. It just had never even been an option. Especially under the present circumstances. If somebody had told her 24 hours ago that she had lost her virginity to Harry, she would have laughed in the face of whoever told her.

"Afraid of your best friend now?" Harry said with a grin, sitting down beside her on the bed. "I didn't realize that I was that scary."

Hermione sighed. "Of course not, but think about what we did. You and I were supposed to be going away to give Ron and his family time to mourn in private so we ended up back at the common room. Next thing I know I'm collecting my clothes while you're going to the bathroom. Don't you think that there's something just a _teeny_ bit wrong with that picture?"

"Well…" Harry let his sentence trail off, scratching the back of his neck. "I suppose that there are a couple of things that might not get us full approval about the situation. Like the fact that we're not dating and have been friends for so long."

"And what about the fact that the girl who you seemed to have been _dying_ to get back to… sorry, that sounded wrong, but you know what I mean… has just died, _and_ I've agreed to go on a date with our best friend," Hermione glared at Harry, waiting for the seriousness of what they had just done to sink in. It didn't take long.

"Shit."

"You think?" She was not in the mood to deal with somebody who was acting slow, they needed to come up with a story that they could stick to. She didn't want to think of what people would say if they found out where she and Harry had been. In fact, she didn't want herself to think about it. If she did, she might start having ideas, and dangerous ones at that.

"Why don't we just say that we went back to the common room and lost track of time? It wouldn't be that far from the truth, at least at first, so it shouldn't be difficult to stick to," Harry suggested.

"I guess that'll have to do," Hermione agreed. "We are so stupid. We go to give the Weasleys some privacy, and I will admit, to get away from the chaos, and we do _this_. We have to be the most irresponsible people in the castle at the moment."

Harry laughed. "No, I don't think that we are. I'm sure somebody would have done something stupider while we were fighting. Meaning well, of course, but being idiotic just the same." Hermione tossed one of the pillows at him, which he caught just before it hit his face. "No need to get violent," he said sternly.

Although Hermione could tell that he was trying to be funny, she did not like the look on his face. She knew something must have been annoying him, but before she had the chance to ask, he answered her question. Once she heard what he had to say, she wished she never would have heard in the first place. "All kidding aside, we were pretty irresponsible ourselves. I'm strongly hoping that you could somehow disprove this, but we didn't use any form of protection what-so-ever."

Hermione's mind started spinning. Of course they hadn't; she hadn't been expecting to make love to somebody anytime soon, so she hadn't put herself on birth control. She and Harry were definitely not planning this when they went to Hogsmeade the day before, so they didn't have anything on them either. She was going to have to hope for the best, since she didn't want to think about what might happen otherwise. At best life would proceed normally at she could not have to think about what happened between her and Harry in the first year boys' dorms. At worst, she would end up pregnant with some STD or another. "At least I can cross the disease off," she thought half-heartedly.

She could feel Harry's eyes on her, he had clearly been expecting her to say something to his statement. He must have realized that he wasn't going to get anything, as he stood up and offered her his hand. "We don't have to think about that though do we? The odds are in our favour and we're probably just freaking ourselves out," he said as he was helping her get up. "Let's just go downstairs and focus on other things."

"Like death?" Hermione asked. As much as she disliked having to focus on what she just did, the other option wasn't looking too appealing either.

That silenced Harry. They managed to get to the Great Hall without too much difficulty and without too many interruptions, which Hermione knew Harry must have been thankful for. Despite her previous wishes to have been in the Great Hall, once she got there she was reluctant to go back to see Ron. Not only did she not want to answer his questions to where she had been, she didn't want to see his mother or sister. Knowing she didn't have an option in the matter, she convinced herself that she would have to be strong, if only for her friends.

"Where were you two?" Mr. Weasley asked the moment they reached him. "You should have known better than to run off at a time like this."

"We were in the common room," Hermione said quickly. She had the feeling that as the only parent his children had, he was going to be as much of a worrier as his wife had once been. "We thought that you might like to spend some time together as a family, so we decided to go somewhere else and not invade on your privacy." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Harry nodding in agreement.

The simple answer seemed to be enough for the distraught family. After a couple moments of silence, Charlie spoke up. "While you two were gone we started discussing the funerals."

Hermione's head jerked to look at him. Talking about the funerals made the entire thing seem so much more real, like the Weasley women really had died. At the mention of the funerals she could have sworn she saw George wipe one of his eyes and Mr Weasley placed his head in his hands, shoulders shaking.

Mrs Weasley had told Hermione the story of how she had started dating Mr. Weasley years ago. She knew that they had been sweethearts when they were still at Hogwarts, dating since around the time they took their Ordinary Wizarding Levels. They married within two weeks of graduating, and had found out that Molly was pregnant with Bill after they had been married for a couple of years. They had been the unit known as Arthur and Molly, Mum and Dad, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for so long that it was weird for them to be apart. Hermione knew that as difficult as it was going to be for his sons, it as going to be even more difficult for him to deal with the loss of his only daughter and his wife, his soul mate.

"When are the funerals supposed to be?"

Harry's question snapped Hermione out of her thoughts. She wasn't prepared for the answer she got from Percy and she really didn't like it. "Two days!" she exclaimed. How was she supposed to be ready to say goodbye to her magical "mother" and one of her best friends, who was like a sister to her. She couldn't do this. Say goodbye to them forever?

Two days later, she found herself doing just that.

She was standing in the cemetery closest to the Weasley's house, where Mrs. Weasley's parents and brothers as well as Mr. Weasley's parents had been buried. There was a plot of land that the Weasleys had bought for themselves and their children, though they had not been expecting to use it so soon. There were two holes in it now though, with coffins not far away from them.

As she pulled another tissue out of her purse, Ron pulled her closer to him. He hadn't said much of anything all day, but seemed to have developed a sudden need to make sure that those he cared about were alive and well. He hadn't let go of Hermione throughout the entire funeral, followed his brothers around like a lost puppy, never let his father out of his sight, and had Harry stand by his side nearly the entire time. He had tried to act like he usually did over the past couple of days, talking about Quidditch to Harry and occasionally flirting with Hermione, but she could tell that despite his casual attitude and romantic words his heart wasn't fully there.

Harry and Hermione had managed to act almost completely natural around one another, which Hermione was thankful for. She didn't want the others to get suspicious and she didn't want to lose a friend over a silly little mistake they had made when they weren't thinking straight. That didn't really matter at the moment though, what mattered was that they had to make sure Ron was okay.

All in all, he seemed to handle it pretty well. Yes there were tears, but he cried less than she expected him to. Much to her surprise, it was Percy who cried the most between Ron's siblings. She was nearly positive she knew why, which made her feel quite sorry for him. He had finally accepted that he was being an idiot, apologized, then lost two of the family members who he'd just made up with.

After the funeral was finished, Hermione and Ron slowly made their way back to the Burrow, hand in hand. Harry was not far ahead talking to Fred and George, Fleur and Bill had stayed behind for a moment alone, while Mr Weasley, Percy, and Charlie were nearly at the house already. Hermione could tell that Ron was enjoying this time alone, which he hadn't gotten too much of recently.

"Thanks," she heard Ron say, a soft whisper in her ear.

"For what?" she asked, her voice just as soft as his had been.

"For being so great over the past few days." He was starting to flush now, his ears turning pink. "You and Harry both. Thanks for that."

She tried not to show her happiness at the fact Ron remained oblivious to what his friends had done. "He's thanking Harry and I for things we've done over the past few days? Seriously? We haven't exactly been the best mates in the world. I acted _slightly_ on the tarty side of things. I cheated on him for Pete's sake!" her thoughts were quite insulting, mostly to herself but there were a few things about Harry that popped up. As much as she wanted to say some things she decided it would be smartest to keep her mouth shut and said a simple, "Thank you."

It only took another couple of minutes to reach his house, where Ron grabbed her around the waist just as she reached for the doorknob. Instinctively, her eyes closed and she leaned forwards. Their lips met and Hermione began to relax. He clearly didn't suspect she had done anything, life was going to be fine. Ron's lips had just parted over her own when she heard the door open. She was beginning to prepare an excuse when Ron said, "Oh, hi Harry."

Sure enough, after she turned around she saw Harry standing on the doorstep, looking slightly annoyed. "You two better come in," he said monotonously. "Ron's dad is getting worried. I promised I would come looking for you two. I just didn't think that I would find you so soon or doing what you were."

"Should've known he'd panic," Ron muttered. "I suppose we'd best get in then."

Hermione followed Ron and Harry into the Burrow, trying not to compare the two of them in everything… school, looks, talents, height, and even snogging skills. She shook her head as if this could stop her thoughts. "I will not compare the two of them. Ron is my boyfriend. He is tall, funny, and pretty talented at Quidditch. Harry and I are friends and friends only. The fact that he's attractive and good at Quidditch means nothing. Draco Malfoy is both and there's no way I'm dating him."

Not paying attention to what she was doing, she stubbed her toe. "Ow! Bugger!" she exclaimed, hopping on her good foot and nearly falling over in the process.

Ron and Harry quickly went over to her, each grabbing one of her arms to steady her. In Harry's attempts to keep her from falling into a coat rack, his hand brushed across one of her breasts. Ron apparently saw this and laughed, "Don't you go and feel my girlfriend up. Some best mate you are."

His friends laughed nervously, exchanging looks as they did so. Hermione was thankful that Bill and Fleur picked that moment to arrive back at the house, greeting the trio as they entered.


	3. Chapter Three

**Lilies & Baby****'****s Breath**

_Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside._

_--Rita Rudner_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything Harry Potter, everybody and everything you recognize from the books belongs to Jo Rowling.

**Author****'****s Note:** Many thanks to all of my reviewers and beta. I appreciate all of your comments and the additions to people's favourites lists. It means a lot to me, especially since I wasn't sure about this story at first. I hope you all like this chapter too and remember to leave comments (positive and negative) at the end of it. Enjoy!

**Chapter Three**

On the sixteenth of May, eight days since Harry had defeated Voldemort, Hermione was eating breakfast. She had spent the past several days doing interview after interview, typically with Harry and Ron but occasionally joined by people like Neville. Today was no different, she and her friends were supposed to be talking about everything that had happened to them in the past year. She was not looking forward to it. There were always the same questions, day after day. "If only I could get out of them," she muttered to herself. "That would be wonderful."

She soon realized that she really had to watch what she said.

Ron and Harry met her around nine thirty in the morning, which was becoming quite typical for them. The boys were both holding mugs of coffee, Ron's black and Harry's with two creams and two sugars, they were predictable. Ron's shoes weren't done up and Harry looked as though his hair hadn't been brushed in weeks, although she knew he had it attacked by a hair stylist the previous day. They mumbled greetings to one another before being whisked off to their different rooms.

Hermione realized that something was different when there was no makeup artist or fashion consultants in sight, it was looked more like a Muggle beauty salon. Confused, she turned to the woman who had shown her where her room was. "What exactly is going on?"

"You are supposed to be getting a complete makeover today," the woman told her, smiling to reveal perfect teeth. "We believe that it would help the popularity and it would be better for the sales of the book you three may end up writing if the woman can make the men pay attention by her looks alone. Did you not get notice of this before?"

"No," Hermione replied through clenched teeth. This woman was telling her that she wasn't pretty enough, in a slightly more polite way, after not even telling her that she was going to have to get a makeover in the first place! "I think it's quite rude for you to suggest that I need a makeover to make men pay attention to me. I am not going to pay for something that I don't want to do in the first place."

"There will be no need for you to pay for it, we will be doing this completely free of charge on the condition that you tell everybody where you got it done," the witch informed her, smiling again.

"No problem," Hermione said, not having any intention of really doing it.

"Fabulous!" the witch exclaimed. "Helena and Angelita should be in anytime now to start making you look like a supermodel. You can sit down on one of the chairs and look at a magazine until they come. You can have any of the water and fruit in the fridge. Don't look so worried darling, they'll make you look amazing!"

With that she walked out leaving Hermione to herself. The room was pretty large and white with a hardwood floor, though everything else seemed to be pink or purple. She thought it was a bit unnatural to be so perfectly neat and to have so many different kinds of shampoo and styling products. She sincerely hoped that they wouldn't try to give her all of the different products since she would have no idea what to do with any of them. She picked up a purple bottle with neon yellow letters to examine it when the sound of a door closing and voices made her jump.

"Glad to see you've made yourself at home darling. You have a good choice in shampoo, that is exactly what we're going to be using on you to try and tame those waves." The woman who was speaking tall, thin, and blonde. She looked a bit like Narcissa Malfoy in Hermione's opinion which, despite her loathing for the family, she could admit was quite lucky on her part. Her name tag read Helena.

The woman standing beside her, Angelita, was a bit shorter and curvier, but she also had a very pretty face. Her hair was the same colour as Hermione's, but sleek and straight. "I am going to be your hairstylist dear," she told Hermione. "But first you are going to go with Helena to do something about those eyebrows."

Hermione felt herself flush. They weren't really _that_ bad, were they? She had plucked them a few days ago and she didn't let them get too bushy. She didn't have time to think about them much more though, as Helena dragged her off to what appeared to be a bed that you would find at a Muggle doctor's office. It was much softer and, of course, pink.

"We're going to try to wax your eyebrows first," Helena told her as she dug through a cabinet. Hermione gulped. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt that much. The results will be wonderful too, making your eyes look bigger and stand out more with properly shaped eyebrows."

Ten minutes later, Hermione was positively convinced that Helena had lied to her. "Not that painful, my bum," she thought to herself. She had gotten to look in the mirror and admitted that it did look nice, though rather pink. She preferred sitting in the (purple) chair in front of a giant mirror much more, having various colours compared to her skin tone and natural hair colour. When she was asked what she thought of the colour that the two women decided on, she quickly agreed. "It _is_ pretty nice," she admitted, making Angelita beam as she mixed colours.

By the time her hair dye was being taken out, she had also gotten a manicure and a pedicure and was discussing getting a perm as well. She agreed, also managing to get herself a free massage in the process. During her haircut, she finally understand why other girls seemed to like to pamper themselves. It was fun, especially when it was free and you didn't really have to do anything.

At the end of the day, she couldn't believe it was her that she was seeing when she looked in the mirror. Her hair was dark blonde, silky smooth, and she had gotten a spiral perm to try and eliminate her wacky texture. The massage had relaxed her, while her fingernails and toenails were free of dirt and perfectly polished. Her eyes appeared bigger and browner, her cheekbones (which she was ecstatic to hear were actually part of her looks that was "fabulous") stood out more, and her lips looked fuller. She had to admit, she looked really good. Helena and Angelita seemed to think so too, because they were grinning with the pride of a job well done.

Before Hermione left, she was giving a lot of products from the beauticians. She had makeup, nail polish, shampoo, and conditioner as well as instructions on when to get her eyebrows waxed again, her hair dyed again, and so on. Much to her surprise, she actually thought that it wouldn't be that bad to redo it. Yes, it would be tiring but not horrible like she had been expecting. She was surprised that she was actually looking forward to seeing the looks that certain people would have when they saw her again and that she was actually planning on telling people about who gave her the makeover.

Harry and Ron had told her that they were going to go to Sirius's old house after they finished with the interview, so she apparated to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. She let herself into the house, and called out "Hello!"

"We're in the kitchen!" Ron called back.

"Typical," Hermione thought to herself, pulling off her shoes before heading towards the kitchen. She ran into Kreacher on the way and greeted him. She was quite happy to see that he bowed to her and called her "Miss" before going upstairs.

Harry saw her first went she walked into the kitchen and his mouth dropped. Ron turned to see what Harry was so shocked about, the look of confusion on his face for a split second before his mouth dropped too. "So, do you like it?" Hermione asked with a smile, spinning around. When she had made a complete circle, she stopped to look at her friends. They both were smiling.

She went to sit at the table next to Ron, just as he asked, "Why did you have to do it? We were told that you weren't going to be doing the interview with us at the last minute because you had something else to do but we weren't told what."

Hermione told them everything that the first witch had told her about why she had to get the makeover. She told them the basic details of the makeover, giving more of a summary that anything else because she knew that they would fall asleep by the time she started to tall about the hair dye. She was sure that they were only listening to her to be polite, she was positive that they really didn't care about anything she was saying. To return the favour, she listened to them talk about the interview even though it was very much like every other interview they had given by this point. The only really different question was where Hermione was.

Ron left not long after four, which he wasn't too happy about. Percy was making attempts to try and become closer to his family again, and one of the attempts involved them all going out to a fancy restaurant for supper, which Percy offered to pay for. After a long goodbye kiss from Hermione, he walked outside and apparated out.

Hermione decided that she should leave not long after Ron left. There was no real reason for her to leave other than her not being entirely comfortable being alone with Harry in his house. When she gave him his hug goodbye, he whispered in her ear, "You look gorgeous, I hope you know that."

She pulled back, shocked and blushing. "Harry, I'm dating Ron. I can't --"

"I know," he interrupted, ruffling his hair. "I just thought that I'd tell you."

"Well, thanks. But I'd best be going now," she said hurriedly. "Goodbye."

Before he could reply, she dashed out the door and apparated to her flat. She had debated getting a Muggle flat for a while simply because she felt more comfortable with the Muggle appliances than she did cooking by magic. Ron and Harry had managed to convince her that if she could handle the time turner in third year she could handle learning to cook by magic.

Hermione sighed as she began taking out things for her meal. She wasn't sure why Harry had to talk to her about her looks. She had managed to stop focusing on what she had done with him just over a week ago, but this brought it to the front of her mind again. It wasn't typical Harry behaviour to compliment her in the way he complimented Ginny, especially not as she had just passed away. She could only think of one explanation to it, and she didn't like it at all.

Just as she was really starting to analyze it, there was a knock on the door to her flat. She unlocked and opened the door to find Luna Lovegood standing on her doorstep. She looked just as insane as she usually did with a bright blue dress, yellow tights, a white sweater, a magenta headband, and her butterbeer cork necklace. Her large silvery eyes widened when she saw Hermione's new look.

"Come on in Luna, I'll explain."

Luna walked in and pulled up one of the chairs around the kitchen table. "I'm sorry to come right around supper time, but Daddy's gone out to a convention with all of the writers for _The Quibbler_ and I didn't want to spend the entire evening alone. There have been rumours of some pretty nasty creatures in our neighbourhood, you see."

Hermione didn't bother to ask what kind of creatures, for she was positive that they were just going to be figments of Luna's imagination. "I suppose you want to know why I now look like this, don't you?" Luna nodded. "Well, supposedly it would make Harry, Ron, and I more popular if I was more attractive so I was told I could have a free makeover if I agreed to it. I figured that there would be no harm in it so I got a makeover."

"I wish I were that lucky," Luna said wistfully. "Nobody ever pays attention to me because I'm 'Loony' Lovegood. Ginny mentioned it in a fight one time, it was quite sad actually. I suppose somebody won't mind eventually. The guys who liked Ginny would be out of my league, of course, but perhaps another bloke would show up."

"That's not true, if Harry was shallow we wouldn't have…" Hermione's eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth. She had nearly told Luna that she had sex with Harry. Deciding it was best to change topic, she quickly asked, "Would you like to stay for supper Luna? It's only spaghetti with sauce from the store though."

"Yes please," said Luna, looking at Hermione intently.

Hermione quickly served two plates of noodles and sauce, giving one to Luna and keeping the other for herself. After they both had their meals and drinks Luna asked the question Hermione knew had been coming ever since her slip up. "You were talking about how if Harry was shallow you and he wouldn't have done something. What did you two do exactly?"

Although the question was obviously coming, Hermione was not exactly sure how to answer it. Luna didn't seem to mind much, she slowly continued eating while waiting for her answer. Knowing that she was going to have to tell the story soon or later, Hermione decided that it was better just to get it out of the way. "I'll tell you everything, but you have to promise not to tell anybody else."

"Don't worry, I won't," Luna said, putting her fork down and leaving her attention entirely on Hermione. All this attention made her slightly uncomfortable, so she tried to explain what happened as quickly as possible.

"After you went to send an owl to your father, Harry and I decided that we should leave to let the Weasleys spend some time together as a family. We ended up going back to the Fat Lady, the entrance to our old common room, out of habit. Anyway, we got in and sat down and started talking."

"You didn't just talk did you?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hermione shook her head. "I tried to give him a kiss on the cheek but he turned his head at the last second so I kissed him on the lips. I apologized, but he kissed me again. We got slightly carried away and we went upstairs to the first years' dorms. We ended up… we ended up…"

Across the table Luna was nodding her head knowingly. "So you slept with Harry, figuratively speaking."

Spinning the noodles around on her plate, Hermione nodded. "Yeah, the problem is that I'm dating Ron. Harry was broken up about Ginny and we got carried away. Now I'm so confused about whether he likes me or not."

"So you like him," Luna stated

"What? I never said that I liked him!" Hermione said, wondering where Luna was getting her ideas from this time.

"That's true, but what difference would it make if he didn't?" Luna asked. "Nothing really, right? You could always tell him that you don't like him like that, it was a mistake, and you are committed to Ron. But since you sound confused, I don't think you want to cut off the option of Harry just yet."

Hermione was flustered. Not want to cut off the option of Harry? She didn't really want to date him in the first place. He and Ginny had liked each other a lot before she died, he just didn't want to go from knowing that somebody was going to be there to having nobody so quickly. Being his closest female friend, she was the easiest one for him to try to get to now, that had to be it. He hadn't been romantically interested in her before, why would that all change now? Even if it did, it would be an infatuation and not a real romantic attraction… right?

"You're confused now, aren't you?"

"Slightly." 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to confuse you. It just seemed that you would have figured that out on your own, or at least the basics of it."

"Who taught you about romance Luna? Is there some particular reason why you think that you're going to be able to come up with solutions to my boy problems?"

"My mum did, though it doesn't really matter here. I was just pointing out the obvious," Luna said. Despite Luna's opinion that it was obvious, Hermione was confused. This must have shown on her face, because Luna continued. "Okay, maybe you're trying to look at this really logically, like you would at a book. Personally, I think you don't entirely like Ronald. Don't look so scandalized, you know it's true. As I was saying, I don't think that you like him completely because if you did, there wouldn't be any confusion about what to do with Harry."

Hermione remained silent as she ate. Luna couldn't be right… could she? Dating Harry was an absolutely ridiculous idea. She and Ron and liked each other for a while now, surely people were aware of that by now. She couldn't seriously give up dating Ron with the random guess that Harry liked her. Them dating hadn't even been an option last month. She was probably only feeling like this because of what happened between them after the Battle of Hogwarts.

By the time Luna left that evening, she had managed to convince herself that she and Ron were perfect for one another and that there was no reason to break up with him when she really liked him. However, there was a little voice in her head that was telling her something else.


	4. Chapter Four

**Lilies & Baby****'****s Breath**

_Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside._

_--Rita Rudner_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything Harry Potter, everybody and everything you recognize from the books belongs to Jo Rowling.

**Author****'****s Note:** I know that this has taken me forever to update and I am really, truly sorry. You're probably not interested in hearing my (somewhat lame, but true) excuses for it so I won't bother you with them. Please note that I attempted to have several people Beta this and I didn't get a single reply. Please point out any mistakes so I can fix them, but don't flame on my not-so-great grammar. Thank you all for being patient! I guess I'll be re-accepting Beta offers, so just say if you're interested. If you are going to add me to your alert list, please review. I'm on more alert lists than I have reviews. If you like it that much, please give comments. I want to improve!

**Chapter Four**

Three weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts, Hermione was worried. She had been trying to avoid thinking about it, but now it was staring her in the face. She repeatedly postponed what she knew was coming. "Tomorrow," she told herself every day. "There's no need to be worried, tomorrow's the day. The more stressed out I am, the worse the situation will become." She had managed to convince herself for a few days when she finally accepted that it was better to just get it over with to stop all of the guessing.

She hadn't wanted to, definitely was avoiding it. Caving in to her curiosity would be just as bad as what she had done several days ago. Finally getting around to it would mean that it was an actual option, make what had happened between her and Harry seem so much more _real_. It being real could mean that there were consequences to be dealt with, consequences she wanted nothing to do with.

Not wanting to do something and not having to do something are two completely different things though. That was why Hermione had finally plucked up her Gryffindor courage, pushed her embarrassment aside, and did what she had been hoping to not do for another five years or so. She was glad that she had decided to go to a Muggle store a good distance away from where she lived though, just to be on the safe side.

The previous night had not been a good one for Hermione. It seemed like the night was going to go on forever as she lay tossing and turning for hours on end. She had drifted into an uneasy sleep, one that had been filled with boxes, sticks, and lines. Though it had been one of the longest nights of her life, it also seemed to have gone by much to quickly for her liking.

At seven o'clock in the morning, Hermione knew that she couldn't put off what she had been dreading any longer. The thought made her terrified, yet it also came as a relief to know that she would finally know the answer. She made her way trembling with fear and curiosity to her bathroom, where she pulled out the two boxes that she had bought the previous evening.

She opened the boxes one at a time, pulling out everything that was inside them. She made sure that she was positive she understood what the instructions were telling her to do before she really got started.

After she had used the toilet, she felt much better and much more nervous than she had before. She stuck her two little white sticks in the cup, washed her hands, and waited… and waited… and waited.

She didn't realize how long a few minutes could seem when you really needed them to have passed. To her it seemed like she had been sitting on the edge of her bathtub for at least twenty minutes when it had only been two in reality. The decision to take the tests was slightly weird to her since she wasn't even that late, only a few days. As much as she wanted to believe that she would start by the end of the week, she somehow knew that it wasn't true.

Ringing from her timer told her that she could now check her tests. Hermione jumped up the moment it started making noise and dashed towards the counter. She gently picked up the sticks, shaking them gently to avoid liquid dripping onto her hands. After a couple of calming breaths, she flipped them over.

The first stick she looked at had the control line and, upon closer inspection, a very faint line. "Calm down… breathe… maybe you're just imagining it," Hermione assured herself, turning her attention to the second test. There was no mistaking the results on this one, there were two lines that were nearly the same colour.

"Shit."

Pregnancy was indicated with two lines. She had two lines on two sticks, so she was definitely pregnant. Pregnant. How could she, Hermione Granger, of all people be only eighteen years old and having a baby of her own!? "I can't raise a baby," she thought over and over again in her head. "I'm not old enough yet, I'm not ready. I can't do this!"

To vent out her frustration, she let out a scream. Breathing deeply, she tried to think what would be the best thing to do that day. Should she go to a doctor, tell Harry, tell Luna, proceed as normal, or yell it out the window of her flat? The last option was quickly scratched off her list of choices. A couple of minutes later she decided that it would be best for her to continue the day normally, possibly telling somebody later on in the day.

Hermione realized that if she was going to meet Harry and Ron at a publishing company to discuss a book about their adventures on time, she should start getting ready. After the mad dash of eating and getting her clothes on, she grabbed a pair of shoes and was out the door.

Once she arrived at the publishing company's building, she rushed through the halls to the lifts. It took a couple minutes before she found the room that she was looking for, which was quite empty and boring inside. "Hi," she breathed to her friends before sitting down in one of the three chairs opposite a desk.

The trio had just finished exchanging their greetings when a very professional looking woman walked in. Shaking everybody's hands, she sat down across from Ron, Harry, and Hermione. "Hello, I'm Jada Spencer. You three have been asked if you would be interested in writing a book is that correct?" Jada got three nods in response. "We think that since the entire wizarding world is captivated by stories about the famous 'Golden Trio' that it would be a very convenient and rewarding time for you to write a book or two about your adventures. Naturally you could all write one, have each people write certain parts of it, or you could each write your own version of what has happened to you over the years. It seems most people would be willing to read whatever you were willing to sell, so I don't think you should have a problem with sales even if you each wrote a novel about your lives."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. Write a whole novel… _each_? This woman must be out of her mind. There was no way that Ron or Harry would manage to write everything that they had done in the last month alone into a book, forget their entire lives. Jada clearly hadn't seen how long it took them to complete a single essay. Hermione, however, was flattered and interested that somebody might want to read about her view of the adventures she had gone on with Ron and Harry.

Out of the corner of her left eye, she could see Ron's eyes were wide and he was opening and closing his mouth as if he was going to say something. On her right Harry was looking off into the distance, fingertips pressing into his cheek, saying nothing.

Directly in front of Hermione, the publisher was looking back and forth between the three teenagers sitting in front of her. "Naturally, I would understand if you wanted to think about it first. It would be a big commitment, especially with a deadline. If you do decide to do it though, you would have to have a discussion and sign a contract."

Ron cleared his throat before saying, "Er, exactly what would you want us to write in these anyway? Just the adventures like with the Philosopher's Stone and all that or stuff about our lives outside of the action."

"Whatever you would like to write about," Jada said with a smile. "People love to hear about drama and romance as well, so if you showed us some aspects of your personal lives and childhoods I'm almost certain that you would have a best seller!"

Hermione zoned the other woman out then. "A love of drama and romance must mean people would love my story if I wrote it. If I didn't know better I would think that Jada knew about all of the drama that is in the future, though I'm not quite sure I want to give people all of the details. Can't they just assume things and read about it in the tabloids?"


	5. Chapter Five

-1**Lilies & Baby****'****s Breath**

_Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside._

_--Rita Rudner_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything Harry Potter, everybody and everything you recognize from the books belongs to Jo Rowling.

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry this has taken ages to get up! I'm not going to bother you with excuses, but here's the story.

**Chapter Five**

The next day Hermione woke up to an owl tapping at her window. It brought her a letter from Luna, who Hermione had invited to tea the previous day. Luna hadn't been home at the time, so the letter was left at her house with her father promising to give it to her when she arrived home. It appeared that Xenophilius Lovegood had kept his word. Hermione opened the letter, which revealed Luna's familiar printing.

_Hello! I'm sorry that I didn't reply earlier, but I was out of the house doing something important and I didn't get home until late last night. I'm not going to say what I was doing now, I don't want to tell Daddy quite yet, but I will tell you soon. This afternoon in fact, since I would love to come over for tea. I'll bring some cookies with me. Thanks for inviting me!_

_Luna_

As usual, Luna arrived a few minutes late that afternoon. It appeared that she had only just finished making the cookies, since there was a patch of white powder on the hem of her skirt and the cookies on her tray had melting chocolate chips. "Sorry I'm late, " she breathed, handing the chocolate chip cookies to me as she took off her shoes.

"It's okay," Hermione assured the blonde. "You weren't that late."

"No, I suppose not," Luna said dreamily. "I figured that it wasn't too urgent either, since you sent an owl and didn't seem to be panicking."

"You're right, it's definitely not urgent. It's a big deal, yes, but urgent isn't a word that I would use to describe it. I think that we should sit down and have tea before I start telling you about it though."

Hermione ushered Luna into the kitchen, where the cookies were placed on the table and boiling water was poured into the cups. The two girls selected their teabags before Hermione began there conversation. "So, where were you yesterday that you didn't send me your reply earlier?"

Luna looked up from stirring her tea, which she had just added milk to. "I went to Diagon Alley actually. I had something to do there, but there'll be time for that story after yours."

"You're going to make me go first aren't you?" Hermione asked with a sigh. She had been hoping that Luna would be willing to talk about something else first. As nice as it would be to get the announcement out of the way, she had been dreading it. Saying it out loud to another person would make it seem much more real. "Well, you're the first person I'm telling this to. I don't want everybody else to know just yet, so promise to keep it quiet."

"I won't tell anybody if you don't want me to," Luna said. Her big eyes examined her friend carefully. Hermione was sure that somehow, Luna knew that this was going to be something big.

Hermione took a bite out of one of the cookies then, chewing slowly and carefully. She knew that it was a childish thing to do, stuffing her mouth so she couldn't speak, but the extra seconds would give her more time to prepare herself for the announcement. Once she was very sure that her cookie was chewed well enough, she took a sip of her tea and began to speak. "Do you want to hear the shorter version or should I start all the way at the beginning?"

"Start where you think I would need to hear from to completely understand."

"I suppose that would be earlier this year then. After Ron left Harry and I, we were alone for quite a while. We were both in really bad moods at the beginning, but as time went on we got less frustrated and we both tried to forget about Ron. It had been hard for me to no longer have him around since I've liked him for so long, but I managed. I even started to look at Harry on occasion. It didn't take long for me to push the thoughts of him out of my head though, saying that they were just because I wanted somebody and he was there."

Luna's mouth twisted into a small smile. Hermione knew that her friend must have been thinking she was right, her accusation of Hermione liking Harry had been correct. "So this is about you and Harry then?"

Hermione nodded. "Anyway, Ron came back and I thought that everything was fine."

"But…" Luna prompted, trailing off.

"But then we went off after the battle. My intention was to give the Weasley family time on their own to grieve for Ginny and Mrs Weasley. I took Harry with me. We ended up wandering around the castle and I suppose out of habit we ended up in front of the Gryffindor common room. We went in, talked for a bit, friendly stuff. I went to give him a kiss on the cheek and his head turned," she felt her face flushing at the memory. She couldn't believe that she was actually telling Luna this. "I apologized but we ended up snogging. Next thing I know I'm in the boys' dorms, trying to find my knickers."

She had said the last bit very quickly, hoping that if she rushed through her confession it would make it less awkward and embarrassing somehow. There was no turning back now though, Luna knew her secret already. So why did it seem so much more awkward telling herthis time around?

It took her a couple of moments to bring herself to look at Luna. When she did, she was positive that Luna knew where her story was heading. However, she couldn't understand how Luna could look so calm and unaffected when she had just be informed that two of her friends had done such a thing while they weren't dating. In fact, one of them was dating another one of her close friends. Hermione knew that she shouldn't be too surprised, Luna's mind didn't work the same way that most people's minds did, but she had been expecting a bit more of a reaction.

"He's the first person you slept with, isn't he?" Luna asked.

"Yes," Hermione said, looking down. The conversation was becoming more awkward by the minute.

Both girls were silent for a moment, waiting for the other to talk. Luna was the first to speak. Hermione could tell from the tone of her voice that Luna was trying not to insult her, but wanted to get to get all of the story. "Thanks for telling me about that, I know you must've felt… awkward, to say the least. But that's not really why you wanted me here, is it?"

Hermione cursed the fact that Luna seemed to know everything before she was told. The fact that her announcement wouldn't come as a surprise was some comfort to Hermione, who had been dreading the worst. "No, it's not. It's something bigger than that."

Luna nodded. "Go on," she said quietly.

After a deep breath, Hermione blurted out, "I'm pregnant."

Although Hermione was sure that Luna knew what was coming, the younger girl's eyes became even wider than usual. Hermione knew that she must have be shocked that the girl who had always been a Miss Goody Two-Shoes was pregnant at 18 after cheating on her boyfriend with their best friend. She was shocked herself. However, Luna seemed to be handling this a bit better than she was.

Luna looked slightly less shocked before asking, "Do you know when you're due?"

"Either very late January or very early February," Hermione replied. She had tried to figure out the date the previous evening before going to bed. She knew she was lucky to at least know the exact date that she conceived the baby, though she wasn't sure when she ovulated.

"I can see why you said that it's not urgent then," Luna said, smiling slightly. "Though it is definitely _huge_ news. When are you going to tell Harry and Ron?"

The question shocked Hermione for some reason. She knew that she would have to tell her friends that she was having a baby, but it never really sunk in until that point. It would be bad enough to tell them that she was pregnant, but to tell Harry that she was having his baby would be awful. Telling Ron would be worse and she knew it. She didn't even want to think about it. They had been just starting to have a normal relationship earlier that week, without her worries about Harry as well as his sorrow for his mother and sister diminishing slightly. Knowing that everything was going to change drastically from this point on, she began to cry.

Luna appeared to have seen the tears coming, because Hermione felt an arm around her shoulders moments after the tears fell. "It's going to be okay," Luna said quietly, though Hermione could tell she wasn't entirely sure about that.

"No it won't be!" Hermione insisted through sobs. "My life is ruined, completely and totally ruined now!"

Luna sighed and poured more tea. "I'm sure it seems like it now, but I'm sure you'll get used to the idea of having a baby. You _are_ going to have the baby, right?"

Hermione nodded and said, "Of course I am. Though I'm going to need Harry's help with this and try to find a place to work that won't mind me being pregnant. It's going to be rough going, but I don't think I could give my baby up and there's no way in hell that I'm having an abortion."

"Then you have a good seven months at least to prepare for this," Luna encouraged.

Hermione nodded. She knew that Luna was right, though it was hard to believe it at that point. When Luna changed the subject, she was quite happy… although, she had to admit, she was shocked.

"I wasn't home yesterday because I was getting a job," Luna said casually. "I don't start until June 9th, so ten days from now, but that's okay."

The statement took a couple of seconds to sink in. "You got a _job_? Why?"

A shrug was her response. "I thought that it would be good to get some money to help Daddy out, that's all. Having a bit of pocket money would be nice too I guess." Luna twisted her hair around one finger and picked up another cookie in her other hand, gazing at it in silence.

"Er," Hermione began awkwardly, not quite sure what to say. She knew Luna didn't have a ton of money, but had always thought that she had enough to get whatever she wanted… which, it had to be said, was not very much. "Er," she repeated, "where is it?"

"It's an upper-class café in Hogsmeade. We never went there, it's way too expensive and…" Luna's voice trailed off.

"Yes?" Hermione prompted, watching Luna flush.

"I know I shouldn't be saying it, but some of the people there are kind of stuck up. It's mostly purebloods or people who are practically purebloods who go there. I don't know how much I'm going to like the people there, but it pays well. I'm actually pretty lucky, because now Daddy and I can go on our trip to Switzerland a lot sooner." Luna smiled dreamily while explaining this, she had been waiting for her father to save up enough money for quite some time.

"That's good," Hermione replied, taking a bite out of a cookie.

The two finished eating without speaking, thinking about the news that they had received from the other. As she began to get up from the table, Luna said something that Hermione really did not want to hear. "You should probably tell Harry this today you know. And Ron deserves to know too."

Hermione looked up at Luna like she had grown an extra head. She didn't want to think about telling her friends at all. Telling them today would be almost unthinkable. She needed time to prepare for this, to think of what she was going to say and to get up the courage to do it. She knew Luna was right though. "Can I just tell Harry tomorrow?"

Luna seemed to accept this. Hermione wished she had kept her mouth shut, a feeling of dread for the next day had already set in.


	6. Chapter Six Part I

-1**Lilies & Baby****'****s Breath**

_Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside._

_--Rita Rudner_

**Disclaimer**: Over the past few months, I have not managed to gain ownership of Harry Potter. But the plot is still mine, the banner was still not made by me, and I still only own the things you don't recognize.

**Author's Note:** Yes, this took me ages to get up. I'm so sorry guys! I'll try to improve from here on out. I'm back in the fan fiction writing mode, so hopefully this will make my updates less ridiculously spaced out. I also have a story called "Remember Me" up now, so check that out.

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**Chapter Six: ??????**

With a pop, Hermione apparated in front of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. It wasn't noon yet, but she felt as though it had been the longest day of her life already. It seemed almost surreal that she was only minutes away from telling Harry that she was going to have his baby. Perhaps it was because the pregnancy did not quite seem real even to her, perhaps it was because she had never expected this to happen. However, that did not really matter now. It was done and Harry had the right to know, with the responsibility of telling him lying on her.

She knocked on his door several times. She wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. As the seconds ticked on and there was no sign of Harry, Hermione knocked again. Harry had barely opened the door, a drop of water from his wet hair trickling down his nose, and she had already pushed herself into the house.

"You caught me at a bit of a bad time," Harry said apologetically as he was shutting the door. "What's the big rush anyway?"

Deciding that this was not the time to burst out and tell him, Hermione simply stated, "I need to talk to you."

Harry laughed. "I could guess that much. Do you want to come to the living room and tell me whatever it is that's so urgent then?"

Once she was actually sitting next to Harry on the couch, mixed feelings of nervousness and dread made Hermione feel slightly nauseous. She truly hoped that it was just this and not that she was going to vomit from morning sickness. Although she knew that it would be hard to tell him, she did not realize that it would be this hard to simply get the conversation started.

She was thankful when Harry started talking, so she didn't have to. "So… thought about writing that book yet?"

"Book?" Hermione asked, confused. Then it dawned on her… she, Ron, and Harry had been offered deals to publish any books they may write about their adventures. It had completely slipped her mind with the news that she was pregnant playing such a predominant role in what she thought about now. "Oh! The books that we went to go talk to the publisher about!"

"Yes…" Harry said slowly. He was looking at her as though she was slowly losing her mind. She could understand why though, it was not normal to forget something as big as a deal to have a novel published within two days of the offer. He didn't know what was really taking up all of her thoughts. This conversation had kept her awake the night before, trying to figure out how she should tell him.

"No," she began. "Not yet. I've actually had other things on my mind."

Though she knew that she was leaving herself open for questions, she was hoping that Harry would not ask any. Unfortunately, for her, he did. "Like what?"

"Um… do you remember what happened the night that you killed Voldemort?" Hermione mentally kicked herself. She knew the answer that she would get, but she couldn't think of a better way to bring up the topic.

"Yes…" Harry responded slowly again, seeming somewhat confused to where the conversation was heading. "That's not really something you forget."

Hermione sighed. "I know, I know. It's just… I didn't want to have to come out and say it. But," she paused, taking a calming breath. "Well, we had sex and that's not really something I wanted to say. We're not even dating, for the sake of Merlin."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Hermione, I know," he said, his voice unreasonably calm for Harry, especially when he was placed in this sort of situation. Hermione was certain that he was only keeping his voice level to prevent her from completely freaking out. "We can't really change that now though, can we? We don't need to tell anybody about it if you don't want to. It probably wouldn't be the best thing to tell Ron, though I think he of all people would deserve it. I…" he sighed, running his hand through his messy hair again. "I don't want to admit to Ron I betrayed him this much."

Hermione nodded slowly, nibbling on her lower lip. "We have to tell him though. And soon. He's going to find out soon enough anyway."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I know that the two of you are going to do it eventually Hermione, but I really don't need to know this much about --"

"No, not that," Hermione blurted out, frustrated. "That's not it, we're not planning on that. It's just…" She paused, unable to make herself say the two words that she had come here to say. She reached her hand out, fingers inching towards Harry's hand.

Hermione watched her friend, who was looking down at her hand reaching awkwardly for his. He grabbed it, saving her the embarrassment, and rubbed his thumb back and forth over the top of it. "What is it you need to tell me?" he asked gently, looking her in the eye. "How bad can it be?"

This was not how she had wanted the news to come out. It seemed unfair to change Harry's life so suddenly, without warning, without some speech. But there was no way she could change that. Speaking before she could think, the words tumbled out of her mouth one after the other. "Harry, I'm pregnant."

Her brown eyes fluttered up to meet his emerald green ones, which were wide with shock. His black hair was sticking up awkwardly from running his hand through it frequently, an action that he had done in the ten seconds after her announcement twice already. Hermione had seen Harry through a lot over the past seven years, but she was not sure that she had ever seen him look this terrified.

"Wow," Harry whispered after several moments. Hermione waited for him to say something else, but it was clear that he was not going to say something else. "Wow," he repeated, giving Hermione's hand a squeeze.

She nodded, unable to make herself say anything after this announcement. Saying it out loud to her best friend, the man who was going to be her baby's father, had made it seem even more real than ever before. Swallowing hard, she tried to keep her mind off of everything that she was going to have to give up. Images of her new relationship with Ron, getting a job, and simply having part of her young adult life flashed through her mind. All of this, everything that she had been waiting for, was now in the past.

"Don't cry." Harry's voice broke the silence, making Hermione jump slightly. She had not even realized that the tears she had been fighting back for the past few days had finally been let free.

She sniffled and wiped them from her face, smearing black makeup across the back of her hand. "How did this happen?"

"You know that Hermione," he told her, a half-hearted smile forcing its way onto his face. "We were stupid and now we're paying for that."

"But I don't want to be a mother," she whispered. "Not yet."

Feelings of guilt washed over her as soon as the words left her lips. The truth was undeniable, but having actually said out loud that she didn't want her baby made her feel as though she was going to be the worst mother in the world. To admit that she did not want her child was painful. She was supposed to be the one person that this little being inside of her could count on and she was letting it down. This overwhelming emotion pushed her over the edge. Shoulders shaking and chest heaving, the waterworks that she had been holding back were let lose. Once it was free, there was no stopping it.

In silence, Harry wrapped his arms around her. "I know," he said. "I'm not ready to be a father yet either."

Bringing herself to nod, Hermione let the tears fall across Harry's chest. It felt good to cry, to be able to release this flood emotion that she had built up inside of her. Harry seemed to understand her need to let everything out, because he let her cry against him and soak his T-shirt with her tears. "It'll be okay," he assured her, rubbing her back as her sobs subsided. "We'll find a way to make it through this."

That was difficult to believe. "How?" she asked, lifting her head off of his chest slightly so she could look him in the eyes.

He hesitated, before answering. "I don't know yet."

Hermione waited for him to say something, anything, that would reassure her that they had not just made the worst mistake of her lives. Yet Harry remained quiet, which gave Hermione the feeling that he felt just as lost as she did.

The sound of a door swinging open and shutting then rang out through the silent house. "Harry?"

Hermione froze, barely daring to move at all. Her breathing became shallow, the rise and fall of her chest with each breath in and out was minimal. The only thing she dared move that she had any control over was her eyes, which drifted to the entrance of the sitting room after spending several moments locked with Harry's.

Ron's voice called out again. "Harry?"

"Shit," Harry murmured, his right hand running through his hair nervously again. "Ron and I were supposed to go out to eat. Shit." Hermione was sure that the panic in his eyes was also visible in hers, mixed with the fear that Ron would be able to tell that something was wrong.

The two remained on the couch, unmoving, for so long that they heard another voice greet Ron. "Master Harry is in the sitting room," Kreacher informed Ron.

Ron's footfalls were audible as he moved down the hallway, coming closer every moment. Hermione pushed herself away from Harry, not wanting Ron to see her like that. She didn't want him to know what had happened between her and Harry at all, but this was quickly beginning to look impossible.

"Hey Har…" Ron trailed off. "Hermione, what are you doing here?"

She sent Harry a panicked glance, but he was not looking at her. His hand was running through his hair again and his right foot was up against his knee, bouncing quickly. She knew that he was just as nervous as she was. When it was clear that she was not going to get any help from Harry, she answered, choosing her words carefully. "I had to talk to Harry about something," she said slowly. "I haven't been here that long."

"Oh," Ron said, flopping down on an armchair next to a photo covered table. "What have you two been talking about?"

Hermione's breath caught in her throat. When she looked towards Harry, this time he held her gaze. She tried to communicate with him without saying anything out loud. Telling Ron the truth seemed unbearable, she could not admit that she betrayed his trust. Not telling him made it seem less real, because at least that way he did not know of the guilt she was feeling, which she assumed Harry shared. However, she was pretty sure that Harry would feel the need to do the noble thing and let Ron know. Plus, she was fairly certain that her telepathic connection with him was non-existent.

Sure, enough, Harry did not get the message she had been trying to send him. "Hermione, I think you should be the one to tell him."

It felt as though Harry was a traitor. This was one conversation she wished she would never have to have. It was one she never would have dreamed she would be having if somebody would have told her that a month before. Getting her head around losing her virginity to Harry was hard enough. Getting her head around being pregnant a few months before her 19th birthday, well, that was a different thing entirely. Hermione opened her mouth but no words came out. She looked at Harry, terrified, before looking at Ron's confused face. She shook her head, willing the discussion not to continue.

"What's been going on?" Ron asked again, looking back and forth between his two friends. Hermione found it vaguely amusing how he was beginning to look anxious, though he had no idea what was going on. She was sure that anything that he was imagining would seem ideal once he knew the truth. "Somebody better tell me what it is."

Harry looked at Hermione again, his right foot still bouncing by his left knee. "I really think that Hermione should be the one to tell you."

Ignoring the look of pity that he sent her, Hermione narrowed her eyes. Harry had faced the worst Dark wizard mere weeks ago after spending weeks on the run, no questions asked, never with even the slightest sign that he was going to back down. Yet now he was going to leave her to explain what their big secret was, even though it was something that they had both caused. "You should tell him. I didn't get myself into this."

"Yes you did," Harry said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're the one who got up first, if you remember."

Hermione rolled her eyes, he was the one who had originally instigated going farther than snogging. "So what if I was? You were the one --"

Apparently, this vagueness wasn't enough of an explanation for Ron. "What the bloody hell are you two even talking about?" he snapped. "Somebody just tell me what the fuck is going on."

Hermione's stomach clenched. He really wasn't going to drop this. It was only a matter of moments now before Ron knew everything. Before he knew about how his two best friends had betrayed him. Before he realized that he had been kept in the dark, unaware of what was going on, for weeks. Before he knew that she and Harry had slept together not long after his mother and sister died. The last few moments that they had as a group without the awkwardness, without the anger. Possibly even the last few moments when the three of them would be able to remain friends.

"Ron," Hermione whispered, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. "I…" She trailed off, not quite sure what to say. She didn't want to hurt him, but she knew that she couldn't avoid that. What she had done with Harry would be hard to forgive, almost impossible. But Ron deserved the truth. "I screwed up."

"With what?" he asked.

Harry ran his hand through his hair once more, before becoming perfectly still. "So did I, mate."

Ron looked back and forth between the two of them, eyebrows furrowed. "With _what_?" he repeated, starting to sound frustrated.

"I… I'm…" Hermione took a deep breath. Bracing herself for the worst, she decided to just bite the bullet. "I screwed up, and I know it. So does Harry. Ron, I'm pregnant."


	7. Chapter Six Part II

**A/N:** Yes, it is short. But I wanted to get the first half of the chapter out earlier and the second half wasn't as long as I thought it was going to be. But here you are. I present, Chapter Six (Part II) of Lilies & Baby's Breath. And I, of course, still do not own Harry Potter or the canon world.

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**Chapter 6 (Part II)**

"I… I'm…" Hermione took a deep breath. Bracing herself for the worst, she decided to just bite the bullet. "I screwed up, and I know it. So does Harry. Ron, I'm pregnant."

The silence that followed was terrifying. Nobody dared move, Hermione hardly dared to breathe. The only sounds were heavy breathing and the patter of Kreacher's feet as he moved about the kitchen. Hermione had locked gazes with Ron, trying to silently tell him how sorry she was, trying to let him know how much she regretted this mistake. She didn't move when his eyes drifted towards Harry, instead she watched him stare at his best friend. After a couple of moments, realization appeared to have hit him. His jaw opened and closed several times, before he finally managed to splutter out, "You?"

Hermione watched Harry sit, unnaturally still, before an apologetic look crossed his handsome features and he nodded twice.

That was when the shit really hit the fan. Ron jumped out of his chair, looking thoroughly disgusted with his two friends. "WHAT!?" he cried, his face turning a colour similar to that of his hair. "How the HELL could you two, my best friends," the sarcasm was practically dripping off those two words, "do this to me. "What the _fuck_ were you thinking?"

All of the Gryffindor courage that she had failed Hermione. "I don't know," she said, the tears beginning to fall again. "It was stupid, and I know it. He knows it. It was a mistake but we have to live with it."

Ron made a noise that sounded rather like a snort. "Clearly," he said dryly. "Sleeping with the first guy who tried to get in your knickers. Real classy Hermione." The words stung, but she knew they were true. That was, perhaps, what made them hurt even more. Looking satisfied that he had caused her enough pain for the moment, Ron rounded on Harry. "So you lose my sister a month ago, the girl you say that you loved and who we all assumed that you were going to _marry_, and then you go and decide that you might as well fuck my girlfriend?" Turning back to Hermione, he added a vicious, "And you _let_ him?"

Hermione's shoulders shook as the tears cascaded down her face. She willed herself not to cry, not to let herself be affected by Ron's taunts. While the feelings of guilt flooded her, she noticed that Harry was not showing any outward signs of rage or frustration. It seemed that, for once, Harry was going to be the calm force in the trio. "Ron," he began, his voice showing an unreasonable lack of emotion. "I know you don't like to hear this, but it probably wouldn't have worked between Ginny and me."

Ron looked furious. "What?" he asked, his voice cold and flat. "It wouldn't have worked between you?"

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Ron, she liked the excitement of new guys. I was still one of those new guys when we broke up, but my appeal had lasted longer. I was the guy she'd had to chase for years. I started liking her because of jealousy, who knows what would have happened. Sure, we might've lasted and gotten married. But I don't know."

"So you were _using_ my _sister_?" Ron exploded again.

"I never said that," Harry snapped. "I don't know what would have happened and neither do you."

Ron grumbled angrily under his breath, with a few curse words meeting Hermione's ears. "Please don't tell anybody Ron," Hermione said meekly. She had finally gotten up the nerve to talk, something she had not been able to do since her announcement. "Please Ron, I don't want everybody to know. Not yet."

"Harry is the only one you were going to tell?"

She shook her head, pieces of hair falling across her face. "I told Luna yesterday," she said softly.

"And you weren't planning on telling me?"

The accusatory tone hurt, but she knew she deserved it. "Not yet."

Fury crossed Ron's face again. "Not yet. Not yet? Why the hell not? I'm your best friend Hermione, we're dating for Merlin's sake. Well, we were," he said snidely. "You aren't the people that I thought you were. The friends that I had wouldn't do this to me. They actually cared."

"Ron," Hermione whimpered, taking a step forward with her hand held out. "We do care."

"If you cared," he began, deadly calm. "You would have had sex with me, not him. If you cared, you wouldn't be pregnant right now. If you cared, you would have a boyfriend." With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room without looking back.

Hermione took the extra few steps it took to reach the chair Ron had been sitting in, then collapsed. The guilt that she felt was unbearable. She had always been well aware that she had betrayed Ron in a way that neither of them would have thought possible if she hadn't done it. But Ginny… she had died waiting for Harry with hopes that they could get back together. She had been expecting it. And Ginny was only hours away from those hopes when she was killed. But then Harry had talked with her, snogged with her, made love to her. And they had betrayed the Weasleys, who were like their magical family, when they had already been destroyed. Broken.

She felt a hand on her head, as Harry pushed the strands of hair that she was soaking with her tears behind her head. He didn't say anything, as he seemed to know that talking was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment. Or, perhaps, he was as deeply in thought as she was.

With a feeling of dread, she began to feel a sensation that she despised more than almost anything else in her upper abdomen and throat. Pushing Harry out of the way, she ran towards the bathroom. As she crouched in front of the toilet, she was not sure if her nausea was brought on by crying so hard, her pregnancy, guilt, or a mix of them. She felt so horrible, she didn't care if anybody saw her the way she was. In a strange way, it was comforting to have Harry come in with a glass of water as she was leaning over the porcelain. While he was rubbing her back, he said in a reassuring voice, "It's going to be okay." She just wished that she could believe him.


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